By Zephyria 
Even though they were nearly finished with their meal, the father nodded in response to the few words Seo Chi-young managed to mutter. Until the meal ended, the two of them ate in silence, without another word.
The time Seo Chi-young spent with his father was not very long. Arriving in the early evening, having a meal, and escorting his father home—it was barely two or three hours. During that time, they didn’t have much to talk about.
As the time they spent together grew more distant, the stories they could share dwindled, until all that remained were common, superficial conversations or memories from the distant past. Even those stories were exhausted within the twenty minutes it took to walk his father home after dinner.
Originally, he had intended to stay longer and return on a night bus, but it seemed Seo Chi-young wasn’t the only one who felt there was nothing left to say.
Sitting amidst the modest furnishings of a room barely four or five pyeong in size, the father sat facing Seo Chi-young. After drinking a glass of water and exchanging a couple of casual remarks, he was the first to speak. “You should be going now.” Hesitating, Seo Chi-young could only bow and say, “Yes, Father,” before standing up.
When he returned to the terminal, the bus had departed about ten minutes prior, meaning he had to wait another fifty minutes for the next one. After buying a ticket and sitting in the waiting room, Seo Chi-young soon found himself standing up. Because it was a transitional season, the heating wasn’t on in the sparsely populated waiting room, and it became bitterly cold as night fell. His aching, lethargic body was difficult to move, but since his fever hadn’t broken, it was too cold to stay still, so he paced around the vicinity of the station.
Looking at the price lists posted in front of a closed real estate office, he thought, Even though it’s not that far away, the rent around here is cheap. If I could just afford this much, I’d have some breathing room. As he thought this, Seo Chi-young’s expression suddenly clouded.
Come to think of it, what should he do from now on? Driving for the establishment would likely be harder to continue. Though he didn’t know for sure, if Jang Ui-geon had spoken to Kwon Kang-hee, it would be difficult to work there any longer. It wasn’t as if he could just move to another establishment; he had gotten the job through a personal introduction in the first place.
“…….”
Seo Chi-young sighed. However, even if he could find similar work again, he probably wouldn’t do it. He didn’t want to see Jang Ui-geon’s face when he was that terrifyingly angry again.
But then, what should he do? It had been the perfect job to do in his spare time while running the shop. The budget plan he had roughly set for the end of the year had fallen apart.
Once I get back, I should look for another job first… But before that, I’ll just rest deeply for today.
Seo Chi-young touched his burning forehead. Since it was muscle pain and a cold, he would have recovered after a day or two of comfortable rest, but because he had traveled a long distance and couldn’t rest properly in an unfamiliar place, the tension in his body wouldn’t release. He felt as though he might collapse and not wake up once he returned home tonight.
While pacing near the station, occasionally letting out hot breaths, the time for his bus arrived. As soon as the bus entered the platform, Seo Chi-young boarded and took a seat. There were about two or three hours until the destination. It was a good amount of time to catch some sleep.
“………”
The bus was warm with the heating on. The air flowing from above his head was hot in just the right way.
I’m going back. At that thought, the tension in his body relaxed slightly. Between the warm air and the releasing tension, Seo Chi-young closed his eyes.
Once the bus reached its destination and he opened his eyes, he would be back in his own life. In that life, where he would spend another long while without seeing his family, he was entirely alone. All that remained was his daily routine.
Despite the warm air from the heater, he felt strangely chilly and tightened his collar. As he put his hands in his pockets, he felt a momentary void in the left pocket where he always kept his phone.
……..He wanted to hear that voice. No, even if he couldn’t bring himself to call, it would have been nice if he could have just reread the messages he had sent in the past. Those tiny treasures had vanished as well.
Seo Chi-young thought of Jang Ui-geon. It occurred to him that only now did he finally have the space to do so.
From the moment he left his house yesterday, to meeting his mother, then his father, and until he sat in this seat, he hadn’t had the luxury to slowly think of Jang Ui-geon. Between his exhausted body, which was aching to the point of delirium amidst the confusion, the lives of his parents whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, and old memories—all these things intertwined, leaving only brief moments for any other thoughts.
…Perhaps it would have been better if it had stayed that way.
As the sentiment regarding old memories gradually subsided, he surfaced in his consciousness. And he would not leave his mind.
“….. ……”
I miss you. He muttered it only with his lips, but he couldn’t even finish the sentence and ended up closing his mouth.
Why was he like this?
The thoughts he had carefully buried in his heart reared their head.
Even with his eyes closed in a daze, Seo Chi-young’s face flushed. It was because he recalled the night that had passed as if it weren’t reality—the touch, the lips, and the body heat that had poured over him without a single gap.
Why. ……… If he thought about it simply, the answer was very straightforward. Unless Jang Ui-geon was someone with a vulgar nature who used sexual relations for purposes other than their original intent, the answer came easily. Seo Chi-young wasn’t such a fool that he couldn’t think that far.
Does he like me?
However, that obvious answer blurred as soon as it appeared in his mind.
No matter how simple the formula, that answer simply couldn’t be the result. There was no way. Why would he like him? There was nothing about Seo Chi-young that he would like.
He had told Seo Chi-young that he was a precious friend he wanted to get to know for a long time. He had said that he didn’t feel that way in a romantic sense, and that he didn’t want to ruin this relationship. He was grateful for those words alone; he was grateful that the man considered him a precious friend, and so Seo Chi-young had tried his best to reciprocate those feelings.
But.
“……”
Suddenly, a bitter taste filled his mouth.
It had swollen up like that. The expectations he had placed deep inside and locked tight had swollen. How could he not? While seeing such a sparkling person by his side day after day.
Perhaps he had made some mistake without realizing it.
Was that why Jang Ui-geon’s feelings, which had regarded Seo Chi-young as a precious friend, had blurred and grown light? To the point where he might think, Even if the current relationship is ruined, it can’t be helped.
Seo Chi-young hugged himself. His body was warm, but his heart kept growing cold. Even as he tightened his collar and clung to himself, he felt cold somehow.
…Yes. He had felt similarly when leaving the man’s house. Even as he stumbled and nearly fell several times while crossing the threshold of that old house, he was cold. Leaving that vast house where he had been left entirely alone.
It was hard, painful, and lonely. Of those, the loneliness seeped most painfully into his heart.
“…… …….”
And yet, he missed the man who had left him behind. What face should he make when they meet? How could he look at him again out of embarrassment? Even while thinking such things, he actually missed him.
Even as he dragged his exhausted body out of that house where he had been left as if discarded, and even now.
I miss you.
Muttering that, Seo Chi-young curled up.
Despite it being a weekday night, the road was quite congested after passing the tollgate. The bus, crawling like a slow turtle, finally arrived at the terminal nearly an hour later than scheduled.
The subway would have already stopped running, but there might still be one or two buses left. Since there were many buses from the terminal toward Seo Chi-young’s house, he headed to the stop while watching the buses that still occasionally passed by. Fortunately, there was one route left whose last bus had not yet departed.
By the time he finally boarded the bus after waiting quite a while in the chilly night air, it was well past one in the morning. Inside the bus running along a road where only yellow streetlights shone brightly on the deserted street, Seo Chi-young gazed at his own reflection in the window.
Fatigue was etched onto his haggard face. It was hard to even steady himself in the swaying bus, and his head felt light.
What should I do. If I collapse when I get home, I really might not be able to get up.
Would it be okay to close the shop for one more day tomorrow? After thinking for a moment, Seo Chi-young shook his head. He wasn’t in a position to rest according to his whims. He had to look for another job, and there was a mountain of things to do.
Seo Chi-young sighed and shook his head. He had to go home, sleep deeply today, and start a new week again.
Before long, the bus stopped at the stop where Seo Chi-young had to get off. After he stepped out, the empty bus, with no passengers left, departed.
In the middle of the night, when there were few people even on the main road, Seo Chi-young waited patiently for the signal to change at a crosswalk with no cars passing before crossing the street. The wind was cold and his body was still heavy, but his head felt a bit clearer.
Right. When I wake up tomorrow, I’ll try contacting Jang Ui-geon first.
If it was something that wouldn’t be resolved no matter how much he thought and worried about it, it might be better to just contact him and talk. If he was still angry—he wasn’t sure, but if he had done something wrong, he would apologize…
“….. …… …….”
…But maybe he didn’t need to contact him right tomorrow.
Seo Chi-young quietly changed his mind.
If he’s still angry—at that thought, he suddenly became frightened. Just thinking about Jang Ui-geon being angry with an expressionless face was terrifying enough to make the blood drain from his skin.
Right. Let’s contact him slowly after some time has passed and my body feels better.
Seo Chi-young sighed, engraving this in his heart.
Perhaps that incident, although he had been terrifyingly angry, wasn’t that big of a deal to Jang Ui-geon. Since Jang Ui-geon was the type of person to resolve things as they happened, if he had considered it an important matter, he would have waited for Seo Chi-young to wake up yesterday. However, he had left without waiting for him to wake. Knowing that he didn’t take other appointments on Sundays, it didn’t seem like there must have been another important matter he had to attend to.
“…….”
Seo Chi-young rubbed the back of his neck.
It really must not be it.
Perhaps, just maybe, by some slim chance, he might like him—he thought. But the more he chewed on it, the less likely it became.
Seo Chi-young let out another long sigh.
He shook his head, telling himself to stop these vain expectations that had swollen like a delusion.
Right. There’s no rush. Slowly, once my body recovers and my heart stabilizes, it’ll be fine to contact him then.
With a light sigh, Seo Chi-young reached the alley leading to his home. Familiar streetlights cast a yellow, dim glow.
Feeling as though he had truly returned to his familiar daily life, Chi-young rubbed his stiff, aching neck as he turned the corner.
But in the very next moment, he slowed his pace upon discovering a large shadow leaning against the entrance of the apartment complex.
“……Uh..”
The shadow, so familiar that he could recognize it even in the dark, was silently staring at Seo Chi-young, who had stopped in his tracks and was merely blinking.
“Ui-geon-ssi?”
When Seo Chi-young called his name uncertainly, only then did the shadow push off the wall and begin walking slowly toward him.
Emerging from the shade and stepping under the streetlight, the shadow transformed into Jang Ui-geon, with a faint shadow cast over his expressionless face.
“Did you have a good trip?”
He asked casually of Seo Chi-young, who was standing frozen, staring at him as if entranced. His voice was husky, like someone who hadn’t spoken a word for hours.
“Uh.., yes..”
“Did you take good care of your mother’s 60th birthday?”
“Huh?, yes.”
Come to think of it, had he told Jang Ui-geon it was his mother’s 60th birthday? Though bewildered, Seo Chi-young nodded obediently. He stole a quick glance at Jang Ui-geon before dropping his gaze again.
There was still no smile on his face, but it was different from that ice-cold, desolate expression from before, which made him feel a bit more at ease. His voice sounded a bit tired, but it was normal. It was the low, kind voice he usually had. Thank goodness. He doesn’t seem angry.
Seo Chi-young smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. When he slowly raised his eyes, he found Jang Ui-geon looking at him. Meeting that gaze—silent as if lost in thought, yet staring intently as if not wanting to miss a single second—Seo Chi-young, like a frog before a snake, couldn’t even avoid the gaze and just blinked before slowly, slowly dropping his eyes. Then, a memory suddenly surfaced.
Come to think of it, this was the first time they had faced each other since then.
Even though only about two days had passed since “then,” it was the first time they had properly faced each other since that moment which, even now, didn’t feel like reality.
Did such a… thing really happen? Could it have been a dream, a mistake, or a delusion that Seo Chi-young had conjured alone in his head? The fact that this kind and pleasant person had carried out such an act with such terrifying momentum was almost unimaginable, despite it clearly having happened.
“………”
Suddenly, the back of his neck grew hot. It felt as if his already feverish body was becoming even hotter. Seo Chi-young didn’t know how to lift his deeply bowed head and felt lost, but fearing he would suffocate in this heavy, pressing atmosphere if he didn’t say something, he quickly opened his mouth.
“S-since when… have you been here?”
“…. Afternoon..”
However, as Jang Ui-geon opened his mouth to answer, he frowned slightly. Tilting his head as if recalling the memory, he soon let out a short sigh and shook his head.
“I’m not sure. I didn’t know when you’d be back in the evening, but I think I’ve been here since shortly after lunch.”
Shortly after lunch. At those words, Seo Chi-young reflexively raised his head. Blinking his large eyes with a troubled expression, he muttered, “Uh…”
If it was shortly after lunch, that meant nearly ten hours. Was he saying he had been standing here for nearly ten hours?
No way, he thought, but somehow he felt that the man’s calm answer was the truth, and he bowed his head, flustered and apologetic.
“I-if I had known you were waiting, I would have come back sooner. I’m sorry.”
You could have just come tomorrow or the day after… some other time, he muttered, feeling sorry. Looking down at the apologetic Seo Chi-young, Jang Ui-geon remained silent. He didn’t seem angry, but as he looked down with an expressionless face, Seo Chi-young stole another glance at him and then bowed his head again.
He felt like he should say something, but no more words came out.
But why did he wait? He could have just called… Ah, the phone was broken. But even so, if he knew he was coming back this evening, he could have come tomorrow or another time. Or was there some urgent business?
But no matter how much he thought about it, there seemed to be no reason for such urgent business, so Seo Chi-young blinked curiously with his head bowed.
During this time, a heavy silence continued to hang over them, until finally, unable to bear the silence, Seo Chi-young spoke softly again.
“Um, shall we… go inside first?”
It felt awkward to just stand facing each other in front of the house, and if he had waited for over ten hours as Jang Ui-geon said, he must be exhausted. It seemed better to go inside and sit down.
But then.
Jang Ui-geon, who had been silent until now, spoke.
“I thought you might not be coming back.”
“Huh..?”
It seemed to be a monologue that had accidentally slipped out. As Seo Chi-young asked back in confusion and slowly raised his head, Jang Ui-geon was still silent, simply staring at him. As if checking every detail to see if the person standing there was truly Seo Chi-young.
“……With a body in that state, you weren’t at home, the shop was closed… I thought you had run away.”
Jang Ui-geon spoke calmly, his voice quiet. Seo Chi-young looked at him with a bewildered expression, tilting his head.
Running away? Who. Where. Why.
“I broke my phone like an idiot, so I couldn’t even call. I wandered the whole neighborhood to see if you’d collapsed somewhere nearby, but I couldn’t find you. I waited in front of your door all night, but you didn’t come home. I went back and forth to my house several times, wondering if you’d gone there. As soon as it got light, I went to the shop, but the doors weren’t open.”
The words, laid out in a flat, low voice, finally registered. “Oh…” Chi-young murmured, bowing his head as his face flushed a slight reddish hue. It seemed… he had been worried about him.
“I-I’m sorry. I, I intended to say goodbye, but you weren’t home, so I just left. It was my mother’s 60th birthday, and since I’d already booked the tickets, I was afraid I’d be late… I’m sorry.”
As Seo Chi-young bowed his head once more in apology, Jang Ui-geon spoke after a brief pause. His voice had dropped slightly lower.
“I heard from Jun-young during the day. Since you hadn’t opened the shop past the usual time, I went to see if you’d gone to Jun-young’s place again.”
Jun-young told me that today was your mother’s 60th birthday, and that you’d gone to see her and would return in the evening. As Jang Ui-geon spoke, his voice sounded faintly rigid. Seo Chi-young instinctively shrank his shoulders, then frowned as a realization dawned on him.
Waiting in front of the door all night, waiting until the shop’s opening time in the morning, then going to see Yoon Jun-young, and then arriving here shortly after lunch… that meant Jang Ui-geon had stayed awake for nearly two full nights.
“Are you alright? I mean, you must be exhausted…”
When Seo Chi-young looked up and spoke with concern, Jang Ui-geon wore a strange look on his face. What should I do? Now that I think about it, he looks pale. It was still a long way until Sunday; he needed to get some rest. Jang Ui-geon scanned Seo Chi-young’s worried face with a peculiar expression before finally looking somewhat awkward. With a faintly reddened face, he turned his gaze away and said bluntly, “I’m fine.”
“Yes…” Chi-young nodded and fell into an awkward silence, suddenly remembering why the other man’s complexion looked so poor. He had seen Jang Ui-geon like this a few times before—silent and immersed in thought. That was…
“Did you… make up with Jun-young?”
As far as Seo Chi-young knew, Yoon Jun-young was the only person capable of making Jang Ui-geon look that serious and depressed.
Right, he had forgotten because he hadn’t seen that side of him for a while.
Before Yoon Jun-young went to Kwon Kang-hee, there were brief moments when Jang Ui-geon’s face would darken like that whenever Jun-young suffered.
Come to think of it, Jang Ui-geon had fought with Yoon Jun-young the other day. No, he wasn’t sure if “fought” was the right word. He had unilaterally beaten Jun-young and turned away.
Regardless of other reasons, in that situation, it wouldn’t be wrong to say it happened because of Seo Chi-young. As that thought occurred to him, Chi-young suddenly felt a surge of guilt. Of all people, Jang Ui-geon had hit Yoon Jun-young; he wondered how much the man had regretted it and how uneasy he must have felt afterward.
He never imagined it would turn out like this. If he had known, he wouldn’t have worked there in the first place.
When Seo Chi-young spoke in a crestfallen tone, Jang Ui-geon merely arched an eyebrow and didn’t answer. Perhaps they still hadn’t made up. Seeing Jang Ui-geon frown slightly, Seo Chi-young mumbled hesitantly.
“Um… I’ll quit working there. I won’t go back. I’ll contact them tomorrow and tell them I’m quitting. …I didn’t know you’d be that angry. It’s just… I had to earn money. …The area where the shop is located is a redevelopment zone, and they said demolition starts at the end of the year or early next year. I just wanted to save as much as possible until then…”
He hadn’t wanted to lay out a story like this. Listening to his own words, which sounded like an excuse—I had no choice—Seo Chi-young blushed. Then again, wasn’t it actually an excuse?
Jang Ui-geon frowned.
“Why didn’t you tell me that?”
“Huh? Well… there was no… occasion to mention it…”
It wasn’t exactly a secret, so he might have mentioned it if the conversation had naturally flowed that way. But there was no reason to bring it up out of the blue when he hadn’t been asked and it didn’t fit the flow of the conversation.
As Seo Chi-young mumbled in embarrassment, Jang Ui-geon opened his mouth as if to say something while still frowning, but then let out a low sigh. Massaging his furrowed brow to force his face to relax, he spoke in a voice that was an effort to be gentle.
“Chi-young, about that money, I…”
“Oh, i-it’s okay. I’ll manage somehow. I’ve saved a bit up until now, so I’ll be fine if I budget carefully.”
Seo Chi-young interrupted him, thinking he knew what the man was about to say. Saying he was fine because he’d saved a bit was a lie, but he didn’t want to place an unnecessary burden on Jang Ui-geon.
The man would undoubtedly try to help him. But he didn’t want to get into another squabble over such an issue. So, Seo Chi-young shook his head quickly, but his voice trailed off as he saw Jang Ui-geon staring at him.
That’s not true. I’m struggling to get by day by day.
Under a gaze that seemed to pierce right through the lie, Seo Chi-young lowered his head in shame. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling an awkwardness that bordered on misery.
“Besides… if things really don’t work out, I think I could move down to where my father and mother are and open a shop… rent is cheaper in the provinces. I actually looked around some real estate offices while I was visiting…”
This wasn’t entirely true either, but it wasn’t a complete lie. Now that he mentioned it, it was a possibility. The money left over after closing the shop here wouldn’t be enough to open a new one nearby, but it might be enough to open one in the countryside. In that case, it might actually be better than his current situation.
“Thinking about it, I have no family here, and my friends are all busy, so I don’t see them that often… I don’t think there’s any reason for me to stay here alone. …Since I’ll get married eventually anyway, it might be nice to live with my father and mother…”
He had lived here for a long time, and his life was rooted here, but that foundation was so fragile he didn’t know when it might collapse. Just like now. If his foundation was so meager that it could be shattered by external circumstances at any moment, it might be better to move to the countryside and live quietly. Yes. That could work.
As Seo Chi-young murmured as if persuading himself, he began to think that it really might be for the best. There was nothing more to cling to here, and wouldn’t it be better to spend time with his family now?
It really felt that way. So, Seo Chi-young gave a weak smile.
“…You’re not going to look for a new spot near your current shop?”
A quiet voice returned from above. Hearing that voice, which felt faintly colder, Seo Chi-young scratched his head sheepishly.
“I’m a bit short on funds for that…”
Realizing that this contradicted his previous claim that he’d saved enough to be fine, Seo Chi-young looked up with an awkward expression. Then, he instinctively shrank his shoulders.
Jang Ui-geon was standing just one step away, looking down at him. He could see that the quiet, steady gaze was gradually turning cold. Seo Chi-young looked at him in bewilderment, his lips parting with an “Uh…”
Had he made some kind of mistake? Or was the man angry because he kept refusing help, like he had in the past?
“Uh, excuse me…”
“With your body in that state, you went around looking into things like that?”
“Pardon?”
“While I was waiting, driven absolutely mad, you were out there looking for a place to settle down far away…?”
Jang Ui-geon’s voice remained low and flat. Because the voice flowed so calmly, as if he were saying something trivial, Seo Chi-young just stared at him blankly, unable to fully process the content.
“I thought you had run away. I thought you’d run away the moment you woke up while I wasn’t there. …Haha, I thought you were still sleeping there, or that you’d be resting there even after waking up. Until I returned. But when I saw you weren’t there—I went to your house. But with your body, there shouldn’t have been anywhere else to go. You weren’t at home, and you weren’t at the shop I checked just in case. I went back to my house, then to your house, circling the neighborhood… like a madman.”
No, to anyone else, I probably looked like a madman. Jang Ui-geon laughed as he said this. He showed the same eye-smile that usually made his eyes curve, and normally, Seo Chi-young would have laughed along, but he couldn’t bring himself to smile.
“I spent the whole night doing that, wondering where you went, who you were with, what you were doing, wandering around like a lunatic. Eventually, even after it got light, I went to the shop. Since you’re a diligent person, I figured you’d open the doors, so I waited right there. The people in the neighboring shops looked at me strangely since I’d been there since dawn.”
Jang Ui-geon tilted his head slightly and chuckled. His face was much softer than the blunt expression from before, yet Seo Chi-young’s face grew increasingly rigid.
“But in the end, the shop didn’t open… haha, I really felt like I was going crazy. The shop. The house. I didn’t know where else to go besides those two places. And it’s not like I could just call. I felt like this is what it means for a person to wither away while still alive. …Then I went to Jun-young. Actually, I really didn’t want to go. I was terrified that you might be there, or that you’d run away there—though I doubted it—that you’d run away from me to someone else… What if I killed him? It would be troublesome to kill someone. Then I really wouldn’t be able to see you for years. With those thoughts, I stormed into that house.”
Fortunately, Chi-young wasn’t there, though I was able to hear news of him, Jang Ui-geon murmured and then fell silent.
Seo Chi-young looked at Jang Ui-geon as if he’d lost his soul. The eyes that seemed to hold a smile and the gentle voice were familiar. However, the content of his words was so completely detached from them that it wouldn’t sink in.
No, was it just his imagination? Even the expression and voice felt terribly foreign.
“…….., uh, …..?”
As Seo Chi-young tilted his head in confusion, his expression blurring, Jang Ui-geon, who had been looking down at him silently, suddenly asked:
“Chi-young, do you still like me?”
Even the kind voice, like someone coaxing a child, didn’t immediately register in a mind that was busy processing the things he had just said.
Like him? Of course he liked him. How could he not? He liked him. He liked him, but…
However, as Jang Ui-geon stared intently at Seo Chi-young’s vacant face, which now held a flicker of distress, as if trying not to miss a single tiny emotion, his lips twisted slightly.
It was as if he had reached the conclusion he had been suspecting, but it wasn’t a conclusion he liked; his mouth took on a chilling quality.
“I guess I was a bit brazen. I thought you still liked me. Without any evidence, just because you confessed once in the past, I thought I was something special. That’s why I thought that even if I did such a thing, you wouldn’t hate me. …Haha, shall I be more honest? Right, you said you liked me. So I thought you might actually like me more after sleeping with me. Even if you cried, even if it was hard and painful, you probably actually enjoyed it. Yes, so it’s fine. There would be no problem. …I went home thinking such brazen thoughts. I told myself I’d be more mindful tonight and hold you more gently. Yes, taming your body so you can’t escape is a simple matter… I was thinking things like that. Haha, isn’t it ridiculous? I wonder where that confidence came from. Assuming that you would naturally be waiting for me at home.”
Jang Ui-geon laughed aloud, as if telling a truly funny story. But despite the way his eyes curved brightly, Seo Chi-young couldn’t smile. His face went blank, and as if possessed, he struggled to move his lips to call out ‘Ui-geon-ssi.’ However, only his lips moved; no sound escaped, and the call didn’t seem to reach Jang Ui-geon’s ears.
Jang Ui-geon had been watching Seo Chi-young for a while. His gaze, which didn’t leave him for a single moment, was gradually darkening, causing Seo Chi-young to shut his mouth. Seeing this, Jang Ui-geon gave a bitter smile.
“Are you afraid of me? Is that why you went back as if you were fleeing the moment you woke up? Without even a single note?”
Haha, I’m blaming Chi-young again. Why am I like this, really, have I lost my mind? As Jang Ui-geon murmured to himself, Seo Chi-young managed to shake his head with a stiff expression. His throat felt blocked, and the best he could do was a slight shake of his head.
Fleeing. He had never thought of it that way. The thought of being afraid—yes, to be honest, he had. In fact, he still was. Even now, that slow, whispering voice and those pitch-black eyes made his heart turn cold.
But still.
He had never fled or run away. He had never even thought of it. No, he couldn’t even understand why Jang Ui-geon would think that. Why he thought he would run away.
“Even now, I was wondering when you’d return, what I’d do if you didn’t—no, surely you’d return—what if you didn’t, where I should go and what I should search for first… my insides were burning black with those thoughts—and I only barely felt relieved when I saw you coming. …Ahaha, Chi-young, you can laugh. Really, even a two or three-year-old child who found their mother after getting lost in a strange place wouldn’t have been as relieved as I was.”
Jang Ui-geon whispered softly, letting out a quiet sigh as if recalling the memory. But the words, which had paused for a moment, continued briefly.
“But that wasn’t it.”
“………”
“You’re thinking that you could leave for somewhere else at any time. That you have no lingering attachments here and no one you’d be sad to be far apart from.”
“—It’s not like that. Of course, I’d be sad to leave my friends, and Jun-young-ssi, and U-Ui-geon-ssi… I’m not saying I’m definitely going, just that if it really doesn’t work out…”
Seo Chi-young barely managed to squeeze the words out. He shook his stiff head and spoke as if making an excuse, but it wasn’t an excuse. It was the truth.
“What do you mean ‘if it doesn’t work out’? What won’t work? Money? Money to get a shop? How much do you need? Should I provide a building in a good location nearby?”
Jang Ui-geon murmured nonchalantly, like a sigh. Seo Chi-young looked at him in bewilderment and shook his head almost imperceptibly.
No. It’s not that. He didn’t wish for such things, nor did he want to talk about them. Seo Chi-young simply—wanted to get to know Jang Ui-geon as he was doing now. Without him getting angry or feeling burdened, just seeing him as often as he did now, and continuing on this way.
Seo Chi-young shook his head while keeping his eyes on Jang Ui-geon. As he shook his head several times, not knowing what to say first and only staring with wide eyes, Jang Ui-geon glared at him and moved. He stepped toward Seo Chi-young. Seeing him move toward him, Seo Chi-young instinctively flinched. It wasn’t because of any particular reason. He was simply surprised that the man, who had been staring coldly, suddenly moved his body.